Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a recooling system for cooling water from a condenser of a steam power plant.
A steam power plant is normally used to generate electric energy or even to drive a machine. In that case, a working medium, normally a water/steam mixture, carried in an evaporator circuit of the steam power plant is evaporated in an evaporator. The steam generated in the process expands to perform work in the steam turbine of the steam power plant and is then fed to the condenser thereof. The working medium condensed in the condenser is then fed to the evaporator again through a feedwater pump.
The working medium in the condenser is normally condensed by heat exchange with cooling water which is fed to the condenser and heats up in the process. The heated cooling water is in turn normally cooled in a recooling system by heat exchange with the ambient air. The cooled cooling water is then available again for cooling the condensate.
The recooling system normally includes a number of cooling towers. Allocated to each cooling tower is a catch basin which is connected to a collecting passage and in which cooled cooling water is collected. The recooled cooling water is fed back from there into the condenser through a condenser pump. Such a recooling system as a rule is adapted to the conditions of the power station site and therefore requires considerable outlay in terms of construction and layout. In addition, a complicated individual level control for the water level of each catch basin is required for such a recooling system.